Bird Brother: A Falconer's Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
By: Rodney Stotts, Kate Pipkin - contributor / Narrated By: James Fouhey
Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
Listen to the Universe; Lean into the Dream…!
…WOW…
There are stories of people who’ve grown up in extreme poverty, who’ve navigated streets rife with drugs and violence, who’ve seen firsthand what addiction does to loved ones, who’ve come of age in truly ROUGH times… but who thought that Coming of Age was as far as they’d ever get. Some young men felt that was as far as they’d get to age, no middle age as they’d witnessed firsthand violence and murder. Individuals who thought The Future meant only either incarceration for life or early death. And then they’ve managed to turn their lives around. I cringe at the whole: “They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps” idea, as though, at critical times, they did not receive and welcome a helping hand, a chance offered. It takes other people, folks, to bring light, to offer light.
Author and Master Falconer Rodney Stotts received a few helping hands and accepted them along his journey, and he made the most of them. And boy, is he paying it forward, or what? Bird Brother shows just how brightly he’s shining, what a difference he has made, is making, will continue to make given just half a chance—A true Light Bringer in this very dark world of 2022.
We come to see him as a drug dealer, making a coke deal. But something happens, a shadow flits by as the coke is being measured. He strides to a window and looks out; a raptor nearby, eating its catch. He’s fascinated, as he’s always been, by this bird of prey. It stands out to him, this young man who even as a child Looked Up, looked around himself and noted Nature and reveled in it.
As is common in Life, the Universe throws opportunity his way, in various guises. Drug dealing does NOT bring a pay stub that’s needed to rent an apartment. Rodney HAS to have an apartment because he can’t keep storing his growing arsenal of guns at his mother’s house; just ain’t done. He turns in applications for two different jobs, but the first to respond is from the Earth Conservation Corp, the ECC, and he thinks it would suit him. Tho’ it’s fairly onerous labor, it IS outdoors, and it’s cleaning out garbage from the horrifically polluted Anacostia River, a river he has history with and one which has meaning to him.
Yay, Universe! cuz through this and his continued experiences with the ECC, Stotts starts reeeeally developing into a true conservationist. A plus? As progress is shown, trust is put in the ECC, and they’re soon given the opportunity to raise some young eagles, to rehab and care for hurt raptors, to begin programs showcasing the birds and giving the community opportunities to learn about them, to see the glory of the creatures for themselves. Yeh yeh yeh, Rodney continues his drug dealing, but his eyes have been opened, his heart has as well.
A stint in prison has him well and truly done with dealing, and he takes various odd jobs to make ends meet. Another Door Opened: Mentoring new ECC groups, the young men and women most at risk but who might be able to use these moments of freedom to really see, to really look, to maybe even finally believe that they themselves might each have a Future. Each group of kids is different, and Rodney, who’s been there, who’s seen what they’ve seen, who’s paid the price they might pay, and who knows each game they might play, who sees through the posturing and the words they speak to who they are? He rocks each group!
And after sincerely listening to the Universe, after embracing each opportunity, the man starts daring to dream. He firmly takes one step forward, followed by another, followed by the next, never wallowing in the past but thinking about What’s The Next Right Step?
This man dreams big cuz it doesn’t stop at working towards being a Master Falconer, it goes on to creating Dippy’s Dream (His much-loved mother was nicknamed Dippy). First he established Rodney’s Raptors, a haven for raptors and taking them on the road for talks, demonstrations. Animals, yes. But for humans: Dippy’s Dream where people will have the opportunity to experience Nature for themselves. Bought and being constructed on several acres in Virginia, Rodney’s vision is for individuals to learn about wildlife, to walk nature trails, to camp, to work the soil and see food being grown. The pandemic caused a halt, but jeez was I hitting articles after listening to this, and I was sooo glad to see that, while donations fairly dried up (Who gives when they’re just trying to make ends meet during a global pandemic?), and demonstrations were put on hold, Rodney utilized the time to further his clearing of land, his building of aviaries, his readying of structures. Seriously, Life throws curveballs, but Rodney’s listening to the Universe, making the most of moments.
At first I thought I might not be liking James Fouhey’s narration as he had suuuuch a swagger to his voice. Then I realized it was spot-on as Rodney’s survival WAS through having a touch of swagger, a knowledge of just how to duck and dodge, of having just the right amount of self-possession. The man HAS to have that extra bit o’ bounce in order to make decisions and to take ACTIONS in furtherance of the most grand vision ever. So all in all? Fouhey rocks it, esPECially as I desperately wanted to jack up my listening speed so I could discover just What Happens Next for Rodney, but alas! I could not. Fouhey’s pacing was rock solid at my usual x1.2 (x1.3 was as fast as I could go when I absolutely couldn’t contain myself!).
Yessss, I hit google after listening to this. And wonder o’ wonders, what did I find? On PBS’s WORLD Channel, the show America ReFramed: Season 9, Episode 3… “The Falconer”. This story of second chances. Rodney embracing his own, and?
Rodney continuing to offer golden ones for younguns at risk.
Talk about Paying it Forward! Go Rodney, go!!!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.